Contemporary Coffee Tables Can Revitalize Your Room
Living rooms are focused on relaxing or entertaining and typically are centered around one piece of furniture: the coffee table. While people want to reflect their individuality and style in their décor, they often need comfortable and functional furniture in their living rooms. Styles are wide and varied, so there are many options from which to choose; often, people opt for the hip and retro look of the Modern furniture.
The Noguchi table dates from the art deco twenties to the pop-art seventies, and the term retro typically denotes the innovative forms of the forties through the sixties. Whatever the decade, retro furniture has very recognizable traits. Its form defines retro style: clean lines, organic shapes, and modular capability. Too, because of the materials that became readily available after WWII, it often incorporates non-traditional materials such as fiberglass and synthetic lacquers.
Due to the upswing in casual styling, retro coffee tables became popular. After the war, the interior landscape became more relaxed and people were looking for furniture that was different from their parents’ generation, furniture that utilized new forms and new materials. Luckily, designers understood this and were fortunate enough to have new technology and materials such as plastics, chromium-plated steel and plywood at their disposal. The materials allowed for different and unique new forms, allowing for mass production and durability.
The ubiquitous Isamo Eileen gray table, designed in the forties, is comprised of a “free form” glass top supported by two identically sculpted pieces of wood pinned together at an angle to form the base is a well-known retro coffee table. Another is by Harvey Probber, called the Nuclear Table, and it is a good example of the casual lifestyle that families desired to incorporate into their homes. This table offers a variety of forms with its two half circle shapes that can be place together to form a circle, can be lined up to give an ‘S’ shape, or can be stacked on top of each other to give height. Another retro design noted for its innovation is Eero Saarinen’s Tulip Table. The signature table is defined by its pedestal base which eliminated the “clutter” of multiple legs.
In today’s contemporary furniture one can see inspiration from the classic retro style’s of yesterday. For instance, Paul Frankl’s Big Foot coffee table from the 1940’s, with its amorphic shape, is reminiscent of Zaha Hadid’s futuristic designs. Retro coffee tables come in many shapes, materials and sizes and they are a welcome addition to a room that needs a simple, yet interesting and fun, solution to one’s living room décor.
No related posts.
Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.
Tagged with: eileen gray table • modern furniture
Filed under: Family Topics
Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!
Leave a Reply